A taskforce led by Paul Farmer, the chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, paints a bleak picture of NHS services, and makes 58 recommendations to improve care.

“Mental health problems represent the largest single cause of disability in the UK,” the report says. “The cost to the economy is estimated at £105 billion a year – roughly the cost of the entire NHS.”

NHS chief Simon Stevens has responded pledging £1 billion for services by 2020, but critics warn there is still much to do to close the gap between physical and mental health care.

Norman Lamb, former Lib Dem health minister who launched the cross-party Equality for Mental Health campaign last year, said: "This report lays bare the discrimination suffered by those with mental ill health at the heart of the NHS.

"People with mental ill health do not have the same right to get treatment on a timely basis as patients with physical conditions."

Here are 14 of the report’s most startling revelations.

1. One in ten children has has a “diagnosable problem”

However, the average wait for psychological therapy was more than seven months last year.

An “inequity in provision” means children may be sent “anywhere in the country" for help.

2. One in five new mothers has some form of illness

The report notes “depression, anxiety or in some cases psychosis” during pregnancy or in the first year after childbirth.

Less than 15 per cent of the country provides specialist care - and more than 40 per cent provide no service at all - immediately before and after birth.

3. People with acute illnesses risk dying up to 20 years earlier

The taskforce reckons two-thirds of these deaths are from avoidable physical illnesses, many caused by smoking,

But there is a “lack of access” to physical healthcare for people with mental health problems.

Less than one-third of people with schizophrenia in hospital received the recommended assessment of cardiovascular risk.

4. Mental illness can make physical illnesses worse

The report cites £1.8 billion of additional costs caused by the poor mental health of the people with Type 2 diabetes.

But it goes on that fewer than 15 per cent of people with diabetes have access to psychological support.

5. Just 43 per cent of people with conditions are in work

Stable employment helps but the report warns people with mental health problems are "often overrepresented in high-turnover, low-pay and often part-time or temporary work".

6. Half of Armed Forces veterans experience problems

Veterans are “rarely referred to the right specialist care”, it says.

“It is essential that more is done to ensure their needs are identified early and they are supported to access specialist care swiftly,” the report says.